Tavolo Wine Bar & Tuscan Grille
Tuscany and Napa Walk Into a Rhode Island Steakhouse
Smithfield · Smithfield · Italian, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Tavolo lands with serious intent — 200-plus bottles covering Italian classics and California heavyweights, priced in a range that actually lets you drink well without needing a second mortgage. For a suburb of Providence, this is not what you expect walking in, and that surprise is exactly the point.
Selection Deep Dive
Italy is the backbone here, and it's built right: Antinori Tignanello, Sassicaia, Biondi-Santi Brunello, Gaja Barolo — these aren't filler names dropped to impress, they're the actual pillars of Italian wine and Tavolo stocks them like they mean it. Chianti Classico Riserva selections round out the everyday end of things so you're not forced to spend big to drink well Italian. California holds its own on the other side of the list, with Caymus, Silver Oak, Far Niente, and Stag's Leap covering the full spectrum from crowd-pleaser to cellar-worthy. The dual focus earns Tavolo its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence — held since 2020 — and the list looks every bit like it.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is genuinely impressive for a restaurant this size, and Monday's half-price wine night turns that range into one of the better deals in Rhode Island. The glass program appears to rotate with the menu, which means you're not staring at the same tired Pinot Grigio every visit.
Chianti Classico Riserva — $35-$55
Chianti Classico Riserva is the unsung workhouse of the Italian list — enough structure to stand up to a bistecca, enough fruit to keep the table happy, and priced well below the Tignanello and Brunello headliners that tend to steal all the attention.
Ceretto Barolo
Gaja gets all the press when Barolo comes up, but Ceretto's Barolo sits right next to it on the list and consistently overperforms its price point — great structure, less markup, and most tables walk right past it to order something they already know.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine, but it's on every list in America at a premium and Tavolo's California and Italian options give you far more interesting places to spend that money — save the Caymus for somewhere with fewer options.
Antinori Tignanello + Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Tignanello's Sangiovese-Cabernet blend has the acidity to cut through the fat of a thick Florentine steak and the depth to match its char — this is the pairing Tavolo was built for, and ordering it here, specifically, feels intentional in all the right ways.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday — applies to the full wine list.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Tavolo punches well above its zip code — a focused, fairly priced Italian-California list with genuine depth and a Monday half-price program that should be mandatory knowledge for anyone within driving distance of Smithfield. Yes, send your friends here for wine.
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